"Hey, you guys aren't here to see me, are you?"

Seeing everyone's attention drawn to Takemi, Jiraiya, lying on the bed, became annoyed.

"Damn it, I'm the unluckiest one, and none of you even care about me?"

"Here, I even brought you flowers."

Takemi walked over with a smile, casually helped him arrange the flowers, and then said.

"I heard about what happened to you. Didn't Tsunade-sama go easy on you? Otherwise, I should be at the cemetery now, not here, right?"

"..."

Jiraiya's face darkened.

"Tch, I was just being a gentleman and not fighting with a woman. Also, was it you who caused trouble yesterday? Naruto was following me all along, so why did he suddenly go crazy?"

He was very clear-headed and immediately noticed the problem, but Takemi looked at him with confusion.

"Huh? Me? What are you talking about? I only just got back to Konoha yesterday. How would I know about something like that?"

"But…"

"Did Naruto have a change of heart and feel you were too much, so he decided to punish you?"

"..."

"But speaking of which, we all came back safely from this mission. Even Kakashi-sensei wasn't injured, so…"

At this point, Takemi deliberately glanced at Kakashi, who was holding a book and hadn't spoken.

Then he turned back to Jiraiya, maintaining a silent demeanor that implied everything was understood without words.

This immediately made Kakashi and Jiraiya look at each other, and they both seemed to see complex emotions in each other's eyes.

"Oh, right, it seems like someone ends up in the hospital every time we come back."

Guy, at this moment, unknowingly added another blow. At this instant, both Kakashi and Jiraiya felt the other's silence was deafening.

"Hahahaha, alright, alright, so what if I'm hospitalized? It's no big deal." A moment later, Jiraiya burst into laughter.

"Who knew I'd run into Tsunade, right, Kakashi."

"Yeah, that's right."

Kakashi also started laughing, and the atmosphere quickly became lively again.

Although this visit was somewhat unexpected, Kakashi kept introducing and explaining the people present to Takemi.

They also made plans for the evening to gather their old classmates from the same graduating class, so everyone could get to know each other better.

Whether it was to celebrate the successful mission or to celebrate Takemi likely becoming a Jonin soon.

Takemi also greatly enjoyed this atmosphere. Humans are social creatures, after all, and who can truly endure loneliness?

"Even Madara, didn't he create a bunch of White Zetsu to argue with him, and even tolerated them contradicting him until he couldn't retort?"

Takemi thought with a chuckle, but at this moment, an idea popped into his head.

What if there was an 'IF' timeline, and when I was running away, I said to Kakashi, Naruto, and the others:

'Am I no longer the Takemi you knew? I'm afraid that's your illusion, everyone. The Takemi you knew ceased to exist from the very beginning. Don't show such expressions, are you confused? Disappointed? I can understand, after all, admiration is the emotion furthest from understanding.'

Hiss… Would they chase me to the ends of the earth?

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shiver.

Fortunately, he had no intention of running away. Even if he were to leave, it would be stealthily.

"And I can't even use my own identity!"

While Takemi was pondering, in the Land of Rain, Itachi was walking alone towards the Land of Fire.

But as he walked, he suddenly stopped. His expression was calm, but his gaze was slightly grave as he looked ahead.

"Itachi …"

Accompanied by a distortion in space, the figures of Obito and Kisame appeared before him.

Obito also looked at him indifferently, then asked coldly after a moment, "Where are you going?"

Itachi said, "I don't have a mission right now, so can't I do something for myself?"

Itachi looked at the two people in front of him. Although he remained calm, he was secretly preparing.

"Besides, I remember this organization doesn't restrict our freedom. Are you trying to violate the rules?"

"Of course I wouldn't. I'm just a little concerned about you." Obito let out a soft snort. He felt that Itachi was really good at pretending.

Didn't he know what kind of identity he had in his heart?

A double-agent, and he also wants people to completely trust him?

If it were normal times, if Konoha hadn't acted so exaggeratedly and hadn't caused the Akatsuki too much trouble or threat, perhaps he would have been too lazy to bother.

But now, they kept meeting them, and each time they brought them huge trouble.

How could he still let this guy mess around?

"We're going to test a newcomer to see if he meets the requirements." Kisame spoke with a smile at this moment.

"I didn't expect Itachi also had plans. Why don't we go together? It would be more convenient this way."

Itachi didn't speak. He was thinking about whether to say it.

As he kept encountering people from Konoha, and they grew stronger and stronger, even though he still considered himself a member of Konoha, the people he faced didn't recognize him as such.

Recalling when he was in the Land of Earth, he was almost taken out by a Flying Thunder God.

If it weren't for Susanoo, he would have died instantly. He needs to find a way to strengthen himself.

As the former son of the Uchiha Clan's leader, he had read a lot of information, so he had his eye on some things.

"Totsuka Blade, and Yata Mirror."

These were things he had seen in the records. He originally had thoughts about them, but the situation in Konoha and the Uchiha was too chaotic.

After killing his entire clan, he needed to stabilize before acting, but now he couldn't wait any longer.

"Why aren't you speaking?"

Kisame looked at Itachi in silence. He grinned and asked, "Could it be that you have an unspeakable secret?"

"Everyone has secrets."

Staring at Kisame, Itachi replied coldly.

"Of course, if you insist on getting involved, then suit yourselves."

"However, I can tell you, what I'm going to get belongs to the Uchiha Clan."

"Oh?"

Kisame raised an eyebrow. His tone was still polite, but the meaning of his words had changed.

"I didn't expect you to be so gentle. You clearly killed everyone, yet you still didn't forget that you are a member of the Uchiha."

Itachi didn't speak, but his gaze subtly changed.

"Uchiha's things? Are they for dealing with people from Konoha?" Obito was relatively calm. He asked with a frown.

"You could say that." Itachi nodded.

"These things probably only apply to Susanoo. Are you going to contend with me for them?"

"Don't worry, I'm not interested. I'm going to test a newcomer."

Hearing Susanoo, Obito immediately shook his head. He seemed unable to use Susanoo.

Actually, he wasn't interested in 'Uchiha's things.' All he wanted to do was keep a close eye on Itachi .

Besides, how could external objects compare to his own abilities?

"Since we've met now, let's go take a look together. It'll be like helping you out, won't it?"

"Don't talk like that. I know what you're thinking."

Itachi remained indifferent. He turned his head and walked straight ahead.

"If you're going, follow along. A friendly reminder. The information I have isn't much, and finding it won't be easy."